Death in family: Tampa Bay wins for its coach

Even the Olympic break couldn't slow the Tampa Bay Lightning's winning streak. The Florida club celebrated an emotional victory on Wednesday night.

February 26, 2026

From: det/sn

The league's hottest team won 4-2 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, securing their sixth consecutive victory. Even without coach Jon Cooper on the bench, the Lightning – whose in-form Nikita Kucherov recorded his 30th goal of the season and his 700th NHL assist – left no doubt about the outcome.

Coach Cooper, who was also the coach of Canada's Olympic team, was relieved of his duties due to the death of his father, Robert, earlier in the week. As a result, assistant coaches Rob Zettler and Jeff Halpern were in charge for the first game since the restart.

Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay coach. © GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / BRUCE BENNETT

“Whenever someone is absent for personal reasons, the best thing to do is to play with a lot of heart,” Zettler emphasized. “That’s what we did today. ‘Coop’ is what holds everything together here. The lads showed their support for him and played with all their hearts.”

"Our thoughts were with him," said top forward Brayden Point. "These are difficult times for him. It was important to win for him today." Point himself celebrated his NHL comeback after 44 days, having missed eleven games since January 12 due to an undisclosed injury.

Keywords hockey NHL Tampa Bay Lightning